Exeter returned to the top of the table but this was not a match to be deposited in memory banks. It yielded four points for Exeter and a rare one away for the Bears, who on this evidence should not be worried about returning to the Championship having competed on an even level throughout.

It was a match champions look back on at the end of a season and reflect on the belief generated by winning while being some way below par. Exeter are not there yet and, like Saracens, have wobbled either side of the festive period. They were trailing here with 15 minutes to go but so trust in themselves that they declined to kick a penalty in front of the posts that would have put them back in front, opting for a lineout and driving maul.

It worked, if not in the manner intended because their drive was repelled by a side that was defensively sound all afternoon. It was only when the ball was moved wide and Exeter attacked the line that the flanker Sean Lonsdale vindicated the decision not to take the three points by forcing his way over.

Exeter’s first try, with the last play of the first half when they trailed to an Ian Madigan penalty, also followed a decision to go on the attack and attempt to win possession from the lineout rather than kick three points. This time they used the driving maul as a decoy, whipping the ball to the midfield and, after the lock Dave Dennis took a penalty under their posts quickly, Henry Slade’s long pass to Santiago Cordero broke an obdurate defence.

The Bristol coach, Pat Lam, felt both tries should have been disallowed, the first because of a crooked throw and the second for a breach in the law governing the lineout he feels Exeter and other teams constantly get away with.

“I have pointed it out to the Rugby Football Union,” said Lam, whose complaint refers to what he sees as a non-application of the law when backs immediately join a maul following a lineout before it has reached the 15-metre line. “We should have had a penalty but the law is not being enforced,” he maintained.

It said everything about the progress Bristol have made this season that Lam did not see much consolation in leaving Exeter with a bonus point. It was the second close match they had lost to the Chiefs in seven weeks following the late penalty try at Ashton Gate in November, which again followed a penalty kicked to touch, and for once a side blessed with the buccaneering spirit was armed with a defensive plan.

Lam made seven changes, one positional, from the pack that had helped defeat Newcastle Falcons six days before. Exeter had had an extra two days to prepare but those brought in for Bristol played as if they had something to prove, led by the flanker Jack Lam who in the opening minutes thumped into Matt Kvesic and Exeter’s captain Gareth Steenson to set the tone for the afternoon.

Bristol conceded only one line break in the first half and that ended in a handling error, as did most of the few moves that went beyond the half-backs. The mistakes led to scrums: there were 13 in the opening half and almost as many resets and penalties. Bristol’s most promising raid followed a set piece but Harry Randall’s arcing break through the midfield was followed by a pass to Tom Pincus that had too much weight on it.

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Exeter manoeuvred space from a scrum after 25 minutes but Ian Whitten knocked the ball on. It looked as if Exeter would be scoreless in the opening half with Bristol leading through Madigan’s early penalty but they have the capacity to score when it matters.

Lam, having brought on the prop John Afoa 25 minutes in, deployed his other two front-row replacements at the start of the second period. Bristol matched the urgency Exeter returned with and two Madigan penalties put them ahead after 55 minutes.

Bristol were left with a bonus point to hold on to after Lonsdale’s try but they kept going for more until the end, responding to Lam’s urging to aim for the top four rather than be preoccupied by survival.

“Today showed you cannot expect an easy game in the Premiership,” said the Exeter director of rugby, Rob Baxter.

“Every win is precious and the players should be excited by this one.”